Luca Gasparinetti is a graduate student from Venice. He completely loves philosophy because it satisfies his voracious thirst for knowledge. Although Luca is currently attracted to the philosophical foundation of physics, in particular the concept of time, he is also interested in history, mainly Roman’s, and several current topics, including gene editing, AI, and ethical concerns related.
What are you most proud of in your professional life?
I worked full-time to pay for my studies and to be, as far as possible, independent from my parents just a month after graduation. Despite this great effort, I managed to get my bachelor’s degree in philosophy in two years instead of three and win some awards for merit granted by the university. Additionally, getting offers for admissions from prestigious universities, such as the University of Oxford, can only make me proud of the hard work done over the past five years.
What’s your personal philosophy?
I was taught to prioritize first duty and then pleasure as if I were more stoic than epicurean. However, since childhood, I saw this motto as too oppressive: why not give priority to pleasure? I kept repeating: “mmh not so, too easy and counterproductive, probably so do not get the results.’’ So, I decided to turn duty into pleasure. For example, studying, seen by many as a duty, has become a great passion of mine to the point of becoming a love of knowledge. Basically: live by turning your duties into pleasures, and that’s it!
What do you like to do outside work?
As everyone knows, philosophers do not live their life only over books but are also lovers of worldly life. I love spending time with my loved ones, playing football and basketball, working out, going to metal music concerts, and chatting with friends. I love animals and nature too. But first of all, I love eating sweets and pizza!
If you could have a one-hour conversation with any philosopher or historical figure from any time, who would you pick and what topic would you choose?
This question is, actually, perhaps the most difficult. The list, in fact, could be endless. However, although I am extremely fascinated by figures of physicists such as Bohr, Schrödinger, Einstein, De Broglie, or philosophers such as, of course, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, but also Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer, or even well-rounded figures like Leopardi, I believe my list should be reduced to the historical figures of the Roman era. In particular, I would like to be with Caesar in 49 B.C. a few days before his crossing of the Rubicon. There, I would ask what led him to his decision, what he thought, and what his fears were. I mean, I would ask him to tell me everything.
What’s your favorite quote?
Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony.
Translated by Philip Wheelwright, Heraclitus (1959)
What technology do you wish the human race could discover/create/invent right now?
I wish we could create the technology to solve the puzzle of the quantum theory of gravity, a theory whose aim is to combine general relativity, the theory of gravity, and quantum field theory, the theory of matter, in the same physical framework. For now, due to the lack of empirical confirmation, the debate is divided into many theoretical hypotheses. It would be really great if we could make some experiments in order to test which ones are empirically confirmed and which are not. This would definitely bring about significant progress in understanding our reality. Philosophers and physicists expect nothing more!
I would like to indicate another technology that is already in use but that needs to be improved. Recently, biotechnologists, led by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, have proposed an amazing genetic editing technology well-known as CRISPR. Very roughly speaking (my apologies to biotechnologists), to treat genetic diseases, this technology can substitute damaged sequences of DNA with non-damaged sequences. Nevertheless, CRISPR is not ready for testing on humans currently, but for the health of people all over the world, it would be amazing to improve this tool in order to eliminate genetic diseases at the root safely and without any side effects.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
